Success Stories: Back on the Dance Floor
We love our clients and we love seeing them return to their daily life. It’s what makes our job so meaningful.
That’s why we’re so excited to introduce you to our client, Deidre, and are thrilled that she’s willing to share her story with you.
Deidre is a passionate and powerful woman who isn’t afraid to try new things. She’s only been coming to Vitality for seven or eight months, but she’s already experienced so much improvement that she’s back to pursuing her latest endeavor – ballet lessons at DuPage Dance Academy.
Meet Deidre: A Fun and Fearless Dancer
What brought you to Vitality?
I broke two lower lumbar in a car accident almost two years ago and started going to traditional physical therapy for treatment. My back eventually healed but I continued to experience incontinence and lower back pain.
As a result, my doctor suggested a different type of of physical therapy, specifically pelvic PT.
How did your symptoms impact your life?
One of my biggest problems was that I couldn’t twist. That impacted my ability to drive because I couldn’t turn around.
I also love yoga and dancing and was no longer able to enjoy those activities.
What was your experience with Vitality like?
I had such a great experience working with Vitality. As Jennifer and I began to work together and she began educating me, I realized that everything was all related. All the muscles – my core and my pelvic floor were contributing to both my incontinence and my lower back pain.
Jennifer was able to pull all that together in a holistic way where other specialists were only able to look at one aspect of the problem. Jennifer’s insight was that my issues were more structural and had to do with smaller muscle groups.
As a result, we’ve been working on building strength in the core which has given me more strength all around. Now that Jennifer has taught me how to contract the pelvic floor and the abs at the same time, I have more control. But I had to develop both and Jennifer helped me do that.
“Why wouldn’t you want to be as strong and healthy as you can be?”
What did your treatment plan consist of?
I went to Vitality once a week for an hour to do pelvic floor work.
My appointments began with internal manipulation which sounds scarier than it is. Jennifer would essentially push on the pelvic floor muscles and I would release them, but they were really stiff so she would coach me through how to contract them to loosen them up.
There was also a large educational component to the appointments. She educated me on being aware of urges and when to go and not to go [to the restroom]. She also helped me manage a healthier lifestyle.
I really didn’t have an appreciation for what Jennifer and Amy can do, but they are so experienced and have the credentials to really help people.
What sort of impact has Vitality had on your life?
Vitality has impacted everything and I’m so grateful for the huge difference that they have made in my life.
First, no one identified how my hips were positioned when I exercise except for Vitality. Now, I’m aware of it and know how to adjust and correct for it so I can pursue all sorts of activities – yoga, walking, ballet – and be pain free.
I love that I can dance again and I was able to get back to that in a short amount of time.
What advice do you have for other women who experience similar issues?
Women see all these commercials for Depends and think, “Oh well. That’s what happens now that I’m getting older.” But what they don’t realize is that incontinence is easy to fix.
It’s so easy to go to Vitality and work with someone like Jennifer to retrain your muscles.Why wouldn’t you want to? Why wouldn’t you want to be as healthy and strong as you can be?
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Deidre – we’ve loved watching you return to your daily activities and pursue your passions. You’re so inspiring. Thanks for sharing your story!
At Vitality, we help women be at their best by specializing and treating disorders related to pelvic and back pain, bladder and bowel dysfunction, and restricted movement. Together, we’ll develop a personalized treatment plan to help you support you in achieving your health and wellness goals.